Sweetie Bakery [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Sweetie Bakery (糖馨烘焙工坊)
Address: No. 55, Guangming Road, Beitou District, Taipei
Website: facebook 
Style: Chinese
Price: $$

Sweetie Bakery is an adorable little bakery with, judging by their whole wall of birthday cakes and tarts, a focus on sweet items (for once!). Yes, they do have the typical selection of bread and savoury buns (with a whole shelf dedicated to green onion and pork floss) but it was nice to have more to choose from than the usual half dozen sweet buns.

I gave the sweet pretzel ($45) a try. Maybe it has an actual name, but nothing sums it up better than that: a large sweet bun rolled and wrapped to create a simple knot of dough. I'll confess that it wasn't as flaky as it looked from the outside with those clearly visible layers, but it was still good. There wasn't much to it, so you could appreciate the flavour and texture of the dough. Well priced, generously sized and tasty - what more do you need? ;)

Rating: ***

Bagel Nash

Bakery: Bagel Nash
Address: 81 Gerry Fitzgerald Dr, North York, ON 
Website: http://www.bagelnash.ca/
Style: Jewish
Price: $$-$$$ 

I don't even know how many times I've driven past this place without taking a closer look. Admittedly, the main reason behind this is the appellation "eatery". In my books, an eatery is equal to a restaurant and I don't associate restaurants with baked goods; however, while they do have their eatery unsurprisingly serving sandwiches, soup and other hot dishes, Bagel Nash is indeed a bakery. Maybe not a big bakery, but what I'd call a typical "bagel bakery": without a doubt the star of the show are the bagels, but if you're lucky, you can chance upon a limited selection of classic sweet bagel accompaniments like rugullah, chocolate buffalo, croissants....

I was hoping for one thing in particular and they had it: the poppy seed bun ($4.50) was a big rolled baked good that appeared made from the same dough and in the same style as their chocolate buffalo. Examining it up close, I found the dough harder than expected, more cookie-like in texture. There was plenty of poppy seed from the outside, but once I got to the middle, there wasn't much left except along the bottom. More than that, it wasn't bad, but missing a certain inexplicable something that prevented it from being well, tasty.

Rating: **1/2

Milkhouses [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Milkhouses (米哥烘焙坊)
Address: No. 158, Guangming Road, Beitou District, Taipei
Website: https://www.milksweet.com.tw/
Style: Chinese
Price: $$

I didn't realize right away that Milkhouses actually quite a big bakery chain (at least as Taiwanese bakery chains go); having to turn down a bakery further on because I'd already gone to this makes the realization even more frustrating. Nevertheless, Milkhouses is fairly major bakery found in Taipei and the surrounding area (there is, after all, a Milkhouses in Taoyuan airport) and their large, stocked-to-the-brim selection is in keeping with that. They've got it all, from birthday cakes to sandwiches, pineapple cake gift boxes to all kinds of sweet and savoury buns. I mean, I'm almost astounded at how overflowing with baked goods it was, especially when there didn't seem to be that many people flocking to it; it's not really a downtown location and the other bakery in Beitou district seemed to attract more interest - do they really sell all that by the end of the day?

Sometimes, however, incredible selection has the downfall of making it really hard to pick out one thing. That was my dilemma, at any rate. Should I go with a classic to see how it compares or go with one of their more unique treats? Seeing as they had quite a number of cream stuffed items and doughnuts, I thought I'd go with the peanut doughnut ($39) - they had the most varieties of this half loaf-shaped fried baked good I've seen and I was curious to try it. It consisted of two bun halves stuffed with milk cream; on the outside, it was yet again smeared in cream and then rolled in chopped peanuts. First bite wasn't bad. I liked the crunch and nutty flavour of the peanuts and the dough was soft and moist on the inside. Personally, there was too much cream on the inside and just the outside would have been enough for me, especially since the milk cream was more oily than anything else and didn't taste very good. Halfway in, I was really starting to feel sick of this thing.... Too big, too messy, too indulgent - and that wasn't a good thing.

Rating: **1/2

Magie du Levain [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Magie du Levain (樂凡手感烘焙)
Address: No. 21, Huaining Street, Zhongzheng District, Taipei
Website: facebook
Style: Chinese 
Price: $$

I have to admit that I was first reluctant to go to Magie du Levain, because it seems to scream big chain with its beverage counter worthy of Starbucks and selection of rustic breads and mostly savoury baked goods - though they do have some sweet and individual, pricier cake slices and tarts by the cash - but they're smaller than they look and actually have just one or two other locations in the city. Nonetheless, I felt like that selection mentioned above looked bigger than it was; examining the awkward arrangement of shelves and tables (especially when it gets crowded), I was a little disappointed that there wasn't really all that much worthy of the Cake Tour besides multiple sizes of pineapple buns and a few other classic baked goods. Only 10-20% of their labels have English.

Wanting to go with something different, I made the mistake of going with the green tea bun ($42), which looked interesting. To my utter frustration, "red bean" wasn't mentioned anywhere on the label and yet with the first bite, I was greeted with big chunks of semi-sweet beans. Further inside, there was the added surprise of sticky and gooey mochi (or at least glutinous rice paste). I'll confess that I'm not a big fan of rice cakes in any form, sweet or savoury. The texture has never appealed to me, so I was far from pleased, especially in this partially solid state resembling white taffy. The bun itself had no distinctive flavour whatsoever, much less green tea, and I was hoping that the "crust" would have added some crunch similar to a pineapple or melon bun. It wasn't sweet and neither was the filling, resulting in a curiously bland mess of a baked good. Definitely a case of me making the wrong choice.

Rating: **

Olympia [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Olympia (世運食品)
Address: No. 78, Chengdu Road, Wanhua District, Taipei 
Website: https://www.olympiafoods.com.tw/
Style: Chinese
Price: $$

Olympia is and isn't a bakery. I mean, depending on where you look, you can be greeted with a standard, ample selection of sweet and savoury baked goods and cakes typical of  a larger bakery or you might think you've gone into the wrong business. This is because of the large dim sum counter in one part of the store that seems strangely out of place; certainly you wouldn't expect both to be operating under the same name, but they do. So you can grab your bread, birthday cake, braised meat, dumplings and turnip cakes all in one go. One stop shopping, if you will. Their website even advertised sushi, but that might be going a little too far. Thus, in a sense, Olympia feels a bit like the prepared food section of a bigger supermarket and as my saying goes "all-in-one equals none-in-one". The question is: do the baked goods taste like a supermarket bakery as well?

The selection is pretty good with some innovative items, but the dim sum and gift boxes make it look more impressive than it actually is; most have English descriptions and the prices are fairly reasonable. I took one of their "new" items: the custard cream horn ($40). This featured a typical soft bun stuffed almost to excess with custard and topped with these little crunchy dough bits I quite liked. The custard had the right consistency and was quite tasty; I was having my doubts as soon as I bought it that it wouldn't be very good, but it wasn't bad. Yes, there was definitely too much of it, especially when compared to the dough. Not exceptional, but I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as commercial as the hodgepodge store made it seem.

Rating: ***

Solarism Bakery [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Solarism Bakery (陽光宣言烘焙坊)
Address: No. 47, Kangding Road, Wanhua District, Taipei 
Website: n/a
Style: Chinese
Price: $-$$

 This small bakery is easy to miss if you don't know what you're looking for; after all, unlike many bakeries you'll encounter in the city, it lacks the large selection, bright lighting and rows of baked goods running along the windows. On the contrary, Solarism is more homey and stocks less bread varieties and quantities than its competitors. Coming at noon, I was surprised to find that some trays already were nothing more than leftover crumbs. I'm not sure if they bake more later in the afternoon or if that's that, but regardless, it had less of that commercial feel that I don't like to see so prevalent in Chinese bakeries.

There wasn't much to choose from, especially in terms of sweet. Someone online recommended the cinnamon bread and while it *did* look good, I didn't want to grab such a big item for just myself. Instead, I went with the brown sugar milk cream bun ($35). Appearance-wise, it didn't like anything special. Almost like a hot dog bun cut in half and smeared with something. Looking at the picture, it didn't even give off a sweet vibe, but all you need is taste and this bun had plenty of that. The brown sugar bun was soft and fluffy and the cream was amazing! So fresh, milky and real! I loved those cake crumbs along the end as well. Honestly, this put me in such a mood for delectable milk cream that I tried it from a couple other bakeries, but, not liking the fake, off-putting flavour and consistency I encountered, nothing could beat Solarism in terms of taste and quality.

Rating: ***1/2

Yiihotang [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Yiihotang (一禾堂麵包本舖)
Address: 34-1 Dunhua South Road, Section 1, Lane 233, Da’an District, Taipei
Website: facebook 
Style: Chinese 
Price: $$-$$$ 

Yiihotang is a busy bakery with, I believe, three locations in Taipei and a busy bakery is usually a good sign when it comes to their baking. Stepping in, I was initially surprised at the rather steep prices, especially given how petite the baked goods were. I then realized it was a vegan bakery and, I'll confess, I was a little more reluctant to pay that extra money. However, the bakery also makes its own tofu/soybean products and the baked goods did look good (though the "cheese" looked a bit questionable), so maybe they had mastered their specialty? Also, I spotted the central table has cheaper buns that wouldn't put such a dent in my wallet.

For a very reasonable $35, I grabbed one of their - albeit smaller than usual - pineapple buns. All preconceived notions went down the drain at the first bite: Yiihotang does in fact make one of the best pineapple buns I've ever had. A little different from the usual greasy variety, this had amazing texture: the crunchy crust was impeccable. Sometimes bakeries pack all the excitement in the crust and the dough underneath is dry and bland or tastes and looks like foam, but the inside on this bun was soft, moist and above all chewy; even without the crust, it was so tasty. A delicious treat for vegans and non-vegetarians alike.

Rating: ***

Wendel's German Bakery [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Wendel's German Bakery and Bistro (温德德式烘焙餐館)
Address: No. 28, Lane 260, Guangfu South Road, Da’an District, Taipei
Website: http://www.wendels-bistro.com
Style: German, Chinese, European
Price: $$$ 

My "bakery beware" radar always goes off when I see the word bistro used in connection with a bakery; it's an absolute given you will pay more and Wendel's doesn't surprise there, though in this case (and for some strange reason other German bakeries in Taipei) the bistro refers to the fact that they have a restaurant attached to the bakery where they sell rather pricey German-style meals. The bakery itself is located entirely behind the counter, so it's not your typical self-service, tray and tong bakery (so why the ludicrous customer experience when ordering?). The selection consists of mostly whole grain healthy breads and brötchen and several pan-European baked goods, none of which can be considered exclusively German. Well, they sell pretzels. However, it is commendable that it's not one of these Chinese/European mash-ups I'm not too keen on; only the cakes/cream puffs are leaning towards typical Taiwanese flavours like taro and milk cream. Labels are in Chinese and English. 

I had the coffee walnut pastry ($66). Not the first thing I'd think of when it comes to German baked goods; however, it was the most unique and with its decadent icing and flaky, nut-filled dough, it definitely looked good. And despite the sticky plastic bag that ruined that icing, it was good. Plenty of big chunks of walnuts wound round with a little cinnamon topped with a creamy, extra flavourful coffee icing. The three - nuts, icing and dough - came together nicely; a little too sweet, I'll admit, and I would have liked the dough to be a little flakier/with some crunch, but notwithstanding their awkward and rather pointless (for takeout orders at any rate) precautionary measures, much better than the idea of "bistro" let on. ;)

Rating: ***

Mr. Mark Bakery [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Mr. Mark Bakery (馬可先生健康烘焙)
Address: No. 130, Hengyang Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei
Website: https://www.mrmark.com.tw/
Style: Chinese
Price: $$$

Mr. Mark markets itself as a healthy bakery alternative and, admittedly, they do have a lot of rye and whole wheat bread and buns with more health-conscious additions like sunflower seeds and turmeric, though they do have classic ingredients like pork floss, cheese and green onion; for those tired of the same old white bread available in just about every bakery, Mr. Mark may come as a breath of fresh air. Those looking for something on the sweet side, however, may be disappointed - like me! I don't know whether it was because I came near closing time or not, but besides large cream Swiss rolls, there was literally no sweet baked goods. I had to make do with the closest thing I could get to "sweet", though even then I found their selection expensive. Even the discounted closing time price of $60 for a single bun seemed exorbitant to me.

Being greeted with a complete lack of sweet Cake Tour-worthy treats though friendly service (otherwise, I would have considered leaving), I took what I considered the next best thing: the apple cream bun ($88 regular, reduced to $60). In my mind, I was envisioning more a pastry/milk cream, so in this I was also disappointed to discover a cream cheese filling with chunks of cooked apple. The apples added a well needed dose of sweetness to the bun, but the whole grain bread, resembling a dinner roll in taste and texture, simply didn't match the cream or apples. It sorely needed something else, even something healthy like almonds, streusel, a dash of cinnamon... Overall, not that good and definitely not worth the price.

Rating: **

GaKuDen [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: GaKuDen Bakery (樂田麵包屋)
Address: No. 99, Hengyang Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei
Website: facebook
Style: Chinese 
Price: $$ 

Welcome to the Cake Tour, Taiwan! I was recently lucky enough to be in Taiwan for about 7 weeks, giving me ample time to review a ton of bakeries. GaKuDen was my very first stop and I was pleasantly surprised by its large selection of appealing baked goods with a certain Japanese flair as well as plenty of Western treats like croissants, pound cake and cookies. Most consists of bread with sweet goods interspersed here and there. Like most food in Taiwan, it initially came across as more expensive than I'd expected, but I soon came to learn that for its quality and location, GaKuDen was very well priced. Labels have English descriptions.

I was torn between a few items and eventually went with the lemon glaze doughnut ($35). While resembling more a sweet bread than a doughnut in terms of texture, I loved it! It had this unmistakable Eastern European taste; the dough was airy and that hint of lemon in the icing with the almonds was so good. The only minus was that it came in a plastic bag that made it heat up and melt incredibly quickly, resulting in a sticky mess and most of the icing remaining on the inside of the bag. Nonetheless, a fantastic start to my Taiwan tour!

Rating: ***1/2

Pasco [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Pasco Hokkaido Premium (Pasco北海道プレミアム)
Address: New Chitose Airport Terminal, 987-22 Bibi, Chitose, Hokkaido
Website: n/a
Style: Japanese
Price: $$$

You never really associate bakeries with airports, so it came as a total surprise to find, despite its decidedly commercial appearance, what seems to be a small Hokkaido bakery chain in the 2F food court. ((Except I swear I've seen that logo before on pre-packed supermarket baked goods??)) Not a cafe, not a monster chain like you come across in larger train stations throughout Japan, but a real bakery right in the middle of the airport - tongs and all. Pasco opened in September, 2019 so it must have just opened when I was there at the end of that same month. The most popular items among their large, fully-stocked selection of sweet and savoury bread and buns seem to be prettily packed loaves of bread and rather disturbing smelt (yes, as in the fish) danishes. Unsurprisingly, expect to pay about 100 yen more per item compared to city bakeries. On the other hand, what was surprising was a complete lack of English labelling; it is an airport, after all.

So I was definitely not there for the smelt danishes... instead, I absolutely could not resist the "forest bear (森のくまぱん; 250 + tax)" bun. I've seen better versions of this bun online, so I think my batch didn't turn out that well, but I still have a soft spot for my uh, physically challenged bear. Despite the adorable appearance, the taste was too sweet for me: the chocolate filling was so thick and sugary that it was almost like you filled the inside with chocolate syrup. The dough itself was underwhelming. Not very flavourful and the texture was too compact; despite eating it almost immediately, it felt like it'd come from a sealed plastic bag, not fresh from the oven.

To make up for the somewhat disappointing bear, there was the melon jam/cream-stuffed bun (350 yen + tax). Seeing that this is also available as a 3-piece gift pack in a variety of colours, I presume this is one of their signature items. I wasn't expecting much, since it had the look of a green hamburger bun, but the filling with its pockets of tangy jam amid a rich cream was a pleasant surprise. Again, quite sweet for a Japanese bakery, but it was great to have the option of stopping at a bakery before a flight!

Rating: **1/2

Ishiya [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Ishiya (イシヤ)
Address: 2 Chome-1 Kita 5 Jonishi, Chuo Ward, Sapporo, Hokkaido 
Website: http://www.ishiya.co.jp/
Style: Japanese
Price: $$$ 

Without a doubt the most prolific of Hokkaido commercial confectioneries and certainly one of the most popular among crazed gift box shoppers in all Japan, Ishiya has two department store retail outlets and a handful of cafes in Sapporo, but is also very readily available in souvenir and duty free shops; if you're lucky, you can even find them outside of the country. For all the hoopla and insanity, it was almost a letdown to find those signature biscuit boxes at my local Chinese supermarket. I bought mine at Chitose airport.

 Their most famous item has to be their "shiroi koibito", Hokkaido milk biscuits. However, I'm not too into biscuits and it never really feels like a "cake" tour when cookies are involved. They also have two types of cake-of-the-moment baumkuchen: white baumkuchen and premium extra butter baumkuchen (both at 1,296 yen). While the white version seems to be the bestseller, the unnaturally colourless cake didn't exactly look appetizing. Extra butter, on the other hand....

The premium extra butter "namara" baumkuchen claims to be loaded with Hokkaido butter from a local dairy. The cake is a golden brown with precisely measured, crepe-thin layer and just cracking open the plastic packaging, you're hit with a delectable blast of butter aroma. Having bought one of these commercial baumkuchen on my previous trip to Japan and not being a fan, I was pleasantly surprised to find the dough reminiscent more of a real sponge cake, not super soft and unnaturally spongy. You could definitely taste that butter, but I almost want to say the smell was stronger than the taste. The crystallized sugar crust, however, was not to my liking. It was so thin and shattered upon impact, leaving the impression that pieces of cellophane had ended up in your cake; I don't know why, but it bothered me.  For a factory-made cake, it wasn't bad.

Rating: **1/2

Ishikura Baumkuchen [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Ishikura Baumkuchen (石蔵バウム)
Address: 1 Chome-2-22 Irifune, Otaru, Hokkaido
Website: n/a
Style: Japanese
Price: $$$

The baumkuchen trend still appears to be alive and well, with many commercial confectioneries and souvenir shops selling some sort of version. Unfortunately, the ones I've encountered are nearly identical: perfect, factory-made circles of soft, super spongy dough with some sort of unnatural, somewhat off-putting coating. In truth, I'm actually not that big a fan of Japanese baumkuchen and while the next bakery review will indeed contain one such example, I really wasn't all that eager to try more baumkuchen. Walking past Ishikura Baum, I was nonetheless lured in by their display of real baumkuchen: lumpy, imperfect tree-like towers of dough. I couldn't believe - authentic baumkuchen!

Inside, this little pastry shop sells rather pricey gift boxes of admittedly large chunks of cake in addition to red bean manju and some sort of cream pastries. The real deal, however, is their "scraps" left over from dividing large spindles of cake. Okay, they're not exactly cheap, but if you don't want to invest in a whole gift box, this is the way to go.

Available in five or so flavours, I tried a small chunk of the matcha (540 yen). The dough was exactly what I wanted: a harder cookie-like texture with an incredible chewy consistency. The sugar coated outside was a nice touch and definitely a highlight. Maybe a little expensive for "cake ends", but I do know that baumkuchen are never cheap.

Rating: ***1/2

Tomokazu-sei Pan [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Tomokazu-sei Pan (友和製パン)
Address: 4 Chome-3-5 Inaho, Otaru, Hokkaido 
Website: n/a 
Style: Japanese
Price: $-$$ 

This humble long-standing bakery is slightly out of the way (unless you happen to be waiting in the ridiculous line at Naruto chicken down the street), but it's a good stop for those who want to take in Otaru's retro charm. Selling classic Japanese pan varieties along with some savoury sandwiches, Tomokazu-sei is simple, uncomplicated fare at good prices. A bit awkward, perhaps - at least, when I came all the doors were closed, the lights were on and no one could be seen inside. Knowing it to be open, I crept in and waited awhile for someone to come from the back. Another customer came as I was leaving, so it was indeed open, but I still got the impression I'd been intruding or had come at a bad time.

I tried the cream pan (140 yen). Not much to look at, the dough was extra soft, almost cushy - a texture that only Japanese bakeries are capable of. Inside, the cream was good in taste, although it was a little too pasty, perhaps. The proportion of that cream, however, was overwhelming. There was simply too much and taking one bite resulted in the cream coming out at all ends. It would have worked just as well with less filling.

Rating: **1/2

LeTAO Pathos [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: LeTAO Pathos (ルタオ パトス)
Address: 5-22 Sakaimachi, Otaru, Hokkaido 
Website: https://www.letao.jp
Style: Japanese
Price: $$$ 

Ahhh, LeTAO! Just the idea alone brings back many pleasant memories of cake perfection... LeTAO is without a doubt the confectionery empire in Otaru. With like fifty concept stores in town (okay, perhaps a slight exaggeration), it's nearly impossible to miss - even if you did, Chitose airport sells whole cakes - and not going is equal to passing up one of the food highlights of Hokkaido. Think I'm going overboard? Well, I would have thought so too....

LeTAO's main focus is selling nicely packaged cheesecakes and cookie gift boxes at unsurprisingly high prices. Depending on which store you go to, the specialty might be slightly different, but cheese is a definite theme. I was thinking of getting a whole cake at first, but had second thoughts when I saw the price; even the individual slices sold at the cafe corner (one of just a handful of sweets sold for immediate consumption) were a bit over my usual budget. However, all that changed when a worker stepped up to me and offered a free sample of their "famous" double fromage cheesecake - I was in line for a slice the next instant and was seriously thinking of making a return in the evening.

Although they have a few other - including seasonal - flavours, only the original is sold in slices. The double fromage cheesecake (410 yen) is a multi-tiered creation consisting of essentially two cheesecakes on top of each other - hence the name. The bottom layer is a classic Japanese souffle cheesecake, heavier and denser compared to everything else. On top of this is a fluffy mascarpone cheese cream layer; above that, whipped cream and soft cake crumbs. This was an incredible flavour and texture experience. It was like eating a creamy yet unbelievably weightless cloud. Oh man... this was AMAZING! Too small, but cake perfection nonetheless.

Rating: ****

Kameju Pan [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Kameju Pan (亀十パン)
Address: 1 Chome-5-12 Irifune, Otaru, Hokkaido 
Website: n/a 
Style: Japanese
Price: $ 

Kameju is a classic (it looks like it's been there for quite some time as well, but I can't verify this) counter-service bakery just on the outskirts of Otaru's main retail area; just like the decor, the baked goods consist of simple, well-priced 'pan', both sweet and savoury. Their specialties seem to be savoury croquette and yakisoba sandwiches - and doughnuts. After all, they have lots of them: trays of original and powdered sugar ring doughnuts along with stuffed varieties.

Having read more than one rave review about their custard, I decided to make the compromise and went with the cream doughnut (140 yen). Like everything else in store, the doughnut was already packed in a plastic bag. Removing it from the bag, I found the golden brown exterior soggy and a bit flattened - were they still hot when they were bagged? The oil had soaked into the dough, so much so that the doughnut itself came across as pretty greasy and not at all sweet, almost like it was more suited to having a curry meat filling or something. Inside, the cream filling was so thick and clotted that a big chunk of it fell out in one jiggly mass. Honestly, I was far from impressed.

Rating: **